GIRLS SOCCER: Vagnozzi's hat trick powers Spring-Ford to district win

ROYERSFORD — Gabrielle Vagnozzi had no trouble making the transition from club to high school soccer, scoring early (and often) when she opened her first season at Spring-Ford last month.

But then an ankle injury took a little spark out of her offense ... or at least until Tuesday night.

The freshman forward was on fire, lighting up visiting Council Rock North with a hat trick to lead the Rams to a 3-1 win in the opening round of the District 1-Class AAA playoffs at Coach McNelly Stadium.

Vagnozzi, who still plays for nationally-recognized FC Delco, got the Rams out of a 1-0 hole when she literally went over the top of Council Rock North defender Sarah Cannon to get her foot on the ball and almost simultaneously boot it past goalie Briana Columbo to create a 1-1 tie at the 29:56 mark of the first half. She picked up her second goal by catching Columbo out of position near the 18-yard line and trickled a shot into the net to give the Rams a 2-1 lead at the 17:23 mark.

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That was all 11th seeded Spring-Ford needed to improve to 11-5-2 overall and advance into a second-round visit to Downingtown West — which overwhelmed Methacton, 4-0, in another opening-round game earlier Tuesday.

“We haven’t been that confident,” Vagnozzi admitted. “Sometimes we need a wake-up call to realize we can (play well), and we got a real wake-up call tonight.”

The 22nd seeded Indians (12-7), who reached the state quarterfinals last November but graduated a dozen seniors from that lineup, looked every bit like last year’s team at the outset. It only took 2:51 for Karina Kovalcik to get loose and unloaded a laser past Spring-Ford goalie Haley Puckett. And with strong midfield play from Michaela Finneyfrock, Delany Smith and co-captains Lexi Steele and Nicole Moonan, the Rams weren’t able to muster much if any offense.

Not until Vagnozzi broke into the scoring column and, for the most, gave the Rams momentum that carried through the remainder of the first half and throughout the second.

“I was waiting for a breakout game from someone,” said Spring-Ford head coach Sheldon Chamberlain. “I thought we’d get one, but I thought it may have come from Simone (Stewart). It turned out we got (the breakout game) from Gabby.

“In the beginning, when (C.R. North) scored, I was concerned. But it was kind of good we did get scored on early. I think that made the girls realize they had to work even harder to come back and win it. They did, too, and we got all three goals from one girl ... wow.”

The game was a physical one, with Council Rock North losing Sarah Kim and Tori Hill after violent collisions. Kim went down with 4:30 left in the first half and never returned. Hill went down with 14:37 remaining in the second half and didn’t return.

If seeing two key players go down wasn’t enough, seeing the Rams shut down their offense certainly flustered the Indians.

The Suburban One National Conference representatives struggled to beyond midfield let alone mount any threats for Puckett (eight saves) to deal with. Much of that credit went to Spring-Ford midfielders Sammy Stipa, Sarah Hancock and Brianna Cirino. But defenders Carrie Kupferschmidt, Carrie Baumgartner and Laura Suero, along with Julie Pennington adding support off the bench, were also there to clear out any advances.

Spring-Ford had an excellent chance to make it 3-1 moments into the second half when Hancock’s shot from up close bounced off the left post. But just over two minutes later, at the 34:30 mark, Vagnozzi was there to punch in her third goal — which was enough for Council Rock North head coach Larry Sullivan to pull Columbo and go with backup goalie Bree Shakt.

But it really didn’t matter, because the Rams didn’t allow the Indians to get back into it.

And Vagnozzi certainly had a lot to do with that.

“In the beginning of the season I started off real well,” the diminuitive 14-year-old said. “Then I hurt my ankle. It was the first time I was ever hurt.

(The injury) took me out of my game, mentally as well as physically. I was so focused on my ankle, and when I’d take a shot I was always worried if I would hurt it more. It kind of makes you hold back, so you’re not 100 percent.”

Vagnozzi certainly was Tuesday night.

“She’s a terrific player,” Chamberlain said. “She has a lot of experience (for being a freshman). She can play, and what a night it was for her.”

NOTES

Chamberlain and Sullivan are actually good friends, having coached the women’s and men’s programs at Villanova University for seven years. ... Council Rock North actually outshot the Rams, 11-8, who had a slim 2-1 edge in corners.